‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ Costume Grabs $228K at Auction

Captain America isn't just saving the nation from bad guys — the patriotic superhero is also apparently saving the country's auction houses from the still-grim economy.

An auction of memorabilia from the 2011 film "Captain America: The First Avenger" and other big-screen Marvel offerings grossed $1.1 million over the weekend, with a costume from the film accounting for about a quarter of the haul.

The "Captain America: The First Avenger" auction, which was presented by the company Profiles in History, drew more than 200 people at the Chicago Entertainment and Comic Expo, selling 217 of its 219 lots.

Among the biggest sellers: the Captain America Hero Costume (pictured at left), which was used in all scenes following the "invasion montage" in the movie. The costume fetched $228,000 at this weekend's auction.

To put that in perspective, that's nearly three times as much as the $82,000 that an entire selection of items owned by recently deceased pop superstar Whitney Houston took in at an auction earlier this month.